Larkspur and Roses
by CTtheOrangeNinja
Summary: Red x Blue Oak. Mention of Gold/Silver. Rating for language and themes. Hanahaki Disease: where unrequited love causes a physical illness in the form of flowering plants choking the lungs.
1. Larkspur

He covered his mouth as another wracking cough wrecked his throat, wincing at the bitter taste on his tongue. He spat out another flower and narrowed his eyes in disgust. He should've never agreed in the first place. He knew it was going to be trouble. Even at 17 he knew that Blue didn't care for him like he cared for Blue, but the sex was at least _something_.

 _Blue eyed him from across the room, eyes dark with want._

 _It wasn't a request._

 _It wasn't a demand, either._

 _It was more of a habit than anything else._

 _After all, they_ had _been fucking since they were both old enough to understand the concept._

 _He tilted his head to the side, motioning towards his room at the Pokecenter._

 _Blue nodded, and followed him to the bedroom, locking the door behind them._

Red sighed and pushed his hair back from his face, slowly getting to his feet. He had more to worry about today than the steady stream of blue flowers that choked his throat. It was his day to challenge the Elite Four, he needed to be at his best. His team was ready, he knew, but he had to make sure he was ready too.

 _Hanahaki Disease. That was what the Pokecenter PC told him when he searched for "coughing up petals." It was rare, with unknown scientific causes. The most widely accepted cause was 'unrequited love.' Even better, it seemed, it was fatal._

 _It could be treated though, if the victim was willing to undergo an intensive surgery to remove the plants from the body. However, it seemed that once the plants were removed, the patient lost all memory of their once-love—the body's version of insurance, it seemed. The only other way to treat it was to either fall out of love or have the love returned._

 _His heart twisted at the thought of forgetting Blue, and he knew that he could never get over Blue. His only hope was that Blue learn to love him, but since he'd caught the other fucking that bitch from the Cerulean Gym he didn't think that was likely to happen either._

 _Well. Hopefully he made Champion before his death._

Lorelei and her team were easy enough for Pikachu and even Venasaur helped out with Slowbro. _Blue would have thought that using Venasuar was pointless and I should have just stuck with Pikachu._ He grimaced and shoved the flowers in the pockets of his jeans, forcing himself to focus.

Bruno was no match for Blastoise and Charizard. He wiped them out without even having to use a potion. _Blue would have used Cloyster and Ninetales…_ He drained the water bottle he had stashed in his backpack, resisting the urge to hack up even more flowers.

Agatha was tricky, but Alakazam defeated the ghost types easily. Snorlax handled the poison types, even though Red did have to use an antidote. _Blue probably could have gotten his team through unscathed._ He wished that the antidote would soothe the burning in his throat, but the water at least made it numb.

The doors opened to his next opponent, and he blinked, confused. There stood Lance, hands on his hips. "No, you haven't counted wrong young man," he said, shaking his head. "There's a new champion up ahead. If you can get through me, that is." What followed was the most intense battle he'd ever had. It had taken some incredibly strategic moves to keep his team's health up. The Gyarados he'd let Pikachu zap with thunderbolt, barely scraping through after the returning hyper beam. Another thunderbolt and the water flying type was down, and Lance switched to Dragonair. Red followed suit and switched in Venasaur, the two trading blows back and forth until finally Venasaur came out on top. He let Snorlax and Alakazam tag-team the next Dragonair, and Blastoise handled the Aerodactyl. The Dragonite was the hardest to take down, requiring the combined efforts of Charizard, Pikachu, and Blastoise. _Blue would be impressed with me._ Red slumped to the floor after the victory, his stomach clenching and he promptly hacked up the larkspurs he had been holding in. He winced, seeing that they were stained with blood. Lance looked startled, taking two steps forward before seeing the flowers. "Young man," he murmured, eyes understanding, "you should really let them go. Otherwise it _will_ kill you." Red shook his head, wiping at the corners of his mouth and healing his team. Then he stepped through the door, ready to face the Champion.

 _Crimson eyes stared in disbelief at the perfect flower in his hands. His throat had been sore for the last few days but he would have never thought it would get this bad. The petals had been coming for about two months, but for a bit there he had thought he was over him. They had 'agreed to some space' after Red had walked in on Blue, Misty, and Sabrina. And then, three months later, Blue had showed up again, making excuses and fucking him senseless._

" _What've you got there?"_

 _He flinched and crushed his hand into a fist, hoping to hide the secret from his lover. His unrequited love. Damn._

 _Blue flashed him a cocky grin, stepping close and taking Red's hands in his own, gently uncurling his fingers._

" _A flower?" he asked, brow furrowed. "Looks like larkspur. Where'd you get it?"_

 _Red bit his lip, pointing in a vague direction, not trusting his own voice not to give him away._

 _Blue frowned, but shrugged, tossing the petal to the ground. "Whatever. Just make sure Pikachu doesn't eat any of it, it's toxic."_

 _Red felt his stomach plummet and he nodded weakly, watching as Blue returned to their tent._

 _As soon as the other was out of sight, he dashed to the stream, vomiting up the contents of his stomach. Mixed in, he realized with dread, were even more larkspur flowers._

He froze at the familiar figure that stood in the center of the Champion's room.

"Well, Red, I'm glad to see that you made it this far. I've been looking forward to beating your ass all day." Blue smirked, tossing a pokeball up and down. The burning sensation in the back of his throat made his eyes water, but he fought back the cough. He couldn't let Blue know. It was _his_ problem, not Blue's. He reached for Pikachu's ball, and his rival grinned. "That's right, let's get this party started!"

He was sweating. He had thought _Lance_ was bad? Not even close. It was always tough battling Blue, they knew each other too well. They had grown up together, had journeyed together, had slept together—everything was shared between them. Except love, of course. It was worse battling Blue since he had developed Hanahaki. It was nearly impossible to stop the larkspur from clogging his throat, he felt like he couldn't breathe. His pokemon weren't doing too much better, but they held on. Blastoise took down Sandslash, then fainted to Exeggutor. Charizard soon took revenge. Pikachu took down Cloyster easily, but struggled against Ninetales. He withdrew Pikachu and sent out Alakazam. The psychic type was able to defeat the fire fox, but the burn wounds soon lead to him fainting as well. It was when Blue's Alakazam fainted to Snorlax that he knew he had the upper hand. Blue cursed, bringing out Jolteon, and Red kept Snorlax in, underestimating the eveelution. Cursing, he brought out Venasaur, but the damage done from the grass type attacks was not enough, and soon he was forced to bring out Charizard. The fire type got in a few good attacks, burning his opponent before fainting. Then it was Pikachu vs Jolteon, just like their first battle. And, just like their first battle, Red finally won.

Blue fell to his knees, the pokeball slipping from his fingers. He curled his fingers in his hair and screamed, "DAMN IT!" Red took a step forward, reaching out for the other, but Blue looked up, eyes burning with hatred. "Why?" he choked, curling his arms around himself. "Why do I always lose to _you_?" Red shook his head, shoulders tensing as he felt another coughing fit crawling up his throat. "I _hate_ you." Blue snarled, suddenly on his feet and lunging at Red. The taller boy pushed him to the ground, fingers curled in Red's jacket. Crimson eyes went wide as he felt Blue's tears splash on his face. " _I hate you so much_. You couldn't just let me have the Championship, could you? Not even for _one day_?! _I_ made it here before you, _I_ defeated the Four _and_ Lance, _I_ —"

"That's enough." They both turned to see Professor Oak enter the room, and Blue stiffened above him. "Let the Champion up, son."

Blue's face twisted, and he stood, turning to face his grandfather. " _Really_ old man? You don't show up when I beat Lance but you show up for _him_? You never acknowledge my accomplishments, but you acknowledge _his_? What? Am I not good enough for you?" he hissed, glaring down at Red. "I don't see what's so special about him."

Red couldn't hold back any longer, and he sat up, hacking and coughing as Blue and Oak watched in shocked silence. He didn't know how long the fit lasted. When his shoulders stopped shaking and his throat burned but he felt like he could breathe again, there was a pile of flowers underneath him. He wiped at the corners of his mouth and turned to face Blue, eyes dull.

His rival was sheet-white, a horrified expression on his face. "Wh-what the hell, Red? You're-you're coughing out _flowers_. Larkspur? They're…they're toxic you know, you shouldn't be eating them and—"

"Hanahaki Disease." Oak muttered, glancing between the two boys. "Red, why didn't you tell me? I would have—"

"A disease?" Blue asked, stepping back. "He's fucking sick?" His eyes were wide with fear and Red sighed, knowing that Blue was scared that he had caught it from him while they were fooling around.

"It's not contagious." He whispered, getting to his feet and wincing as Pikachu jumped up and settled on his shoulder. He knew he probably wasn't making any sense, but he just…he felt so _tired_. He couldn't do this anymore. Not after Blue said he _hated_ him. "Professor, I'm ready."

Oak still looked worried, but nodded, taking Red into the adjacent room, registering his team as champions. "Red, you're this far along, you need the surgery. I know you probably don't want to forget them, but—" he trailed off as Red shook his head.

"No." he whispered, rubbing at his throat.

He couldn't help but wonder if life would hold any meaning after Blue.

He shoved his hands into his coat pockets, crushing the larkspur he'd stashed there.

"I'm ready. He hates me anyway."

He blinked in at the white light above him, sitting up slowly.

"Ah! You're awake." He turned to see Professor Oak sitting beside the bed, a magazine in hand. "I sent your mother home. She wasn't getting any rest."

He nodded, confused. "What about my match—" he stopped as his voice scratched uncomfortably in his throat and motioned for the water that was sitting beside Oak. He drank as Oak explained.

"You beat the Elite Four easily. I knew you would." The professor smiled gently at him. "The Champion match was more difficult, but you won in the end."

"Can't remember." He whispered, wrapping his arms around himself.

"That's normal. It was very intense, and you were probably scared for your team's well-being. Don't stress over it." Red frowned but nodded. "You should get some more sleep. I'll step out to let you have your privacy."

He watched as the Professor left the room, closing his eyes and breathing in deeply.

He couldn't help but think there was something very important missing from his memory.

Like, something or someone who had always been there.

And now they weren't.

He shook his head and pushed the thought out of his mind, drifting off to sleep, unaware of the figure that stood outside the window, hands shoved in his pockets and head bowed.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, throat tightening as he held back a sob.

The boy couldn't stop the tears gathering in his eyes, or the overwhelming feeling of guilt that washed over him.

He also couldn't stop the single rose petal that escaped his lips.


	2. Roses

They offered him the Viridian Gym. Not even a spot in the Elite Four. He suspected it had something to do with his violent outburst when Red won. Blue sighed, brushing his hair back from his face and glancing around the Gym. He didn't know why he had accepted. Only 14 challengers in 3 years seemed like such a lousy number. Sure, he had a few other duties, but not nearly enough to justify the amount of time he wasted sitting around the Gym, just waiting.

3 years. 3 years of struggling with Hanahaki. For the first year, it wasn't so bad. But every time he thought he was over it, Red would show up at the Gym, smile slightly at him and request a battle to "make sure his skills were still sharp." And then he went missing. No one knew where he had disappeared to. And Blue's anxiety over his disappearance only increased his symptoms.

He missed Red. He missed the fucking, yeah, but not _just_ that. He wasn't _that_ shallow. He missed their rivalry, their battles, their friendship. How could he have ever been so blind to his lover's true feelings?

His throat tightened as he recalled their "first" meeting.

" _Hello, Red." He took a seat next to the bed._

 _The boy blinked at him, confused. "Do I know you?"_

 _He forced a grin onto his face, swallowing uneasily. "Nah, just a fan. I wanted to congratulate you on the Championship." Red looked uncomfortable and Blue sighed. "I'm the new leader of the Viridian Gym, you know, so we'll be working together."_

" _Oh." The other boy frowned. "I don't remember battling you."_

 _He thought he could hear his heart breaking. "I was appointed after Giovanni was revealed to be the leader of Team Rocket and disappeared." He explained, tensing as he felt the itch in his throat._

" _That makes sense, I guess." Red muttered softly, fingers curling in the sheets. "It was nice to meet you—uh?"_

" _Blue. Blue Oak."_

 _Crimson eyes narrowed. "Like the professor?"_

" _My grandfather," he explained, hoping that Red didn't ask about his parents or where he grew up. It would be hard to explain how he lived in Pallet Town the same time as Red and never saw the other. But the boy took his answer at face-value, nodding._

" _He's a good man. Was like a father to me," he said softly, a far-away look in his eyes._

 _Blue got to his feet and turned away quickly as the cough escaped him. He clenched his fist around the rose petal and winced at the prick of the thorns in his throat. "Well," he smiled weakly. "It's time I got going. I've bothered you long enough. I'll let you get some rest." He bowed and rushed from the room, practically sprinting down the hallway out of sight and sound of Red's room before the fit took over him._

 _The nurses flitted around him, seemingly wanting to help but Blue brushed them off, grasping the petals in his hands and shoving them into the nearest trashcan. He heard the whisperings behind him, as he exited the hospital, but he didn't dare look back._

He sat down on the floor of the Gym slowly, coughing weakly. It was getting worse, he knew, when the first bud came up. In fact, he was sure that he was nearing the terminal stage—where if he refused to have the surgery he would die. But he didn't want it. He didn't want to forget Red, the last link to their shared past was his mind, he wouldn't erase their connection from existence.

It _was_ all his fault anyway. _He_ had done this to Red. He deserved whatever pain came from it. He had been either too stupid, or oblivious, or callous to Red's feelings, and now he was paying the price. He hadn't even realized how much he cared for him until he was gone. Or at least, _his_ Red was gone, anyway.

The door creaked open, and he looked up, blue eyes narrowing. It was a kid, with dark black hair sticking out of his backwards cap. A kid that oozed confidence with a smirk plastered on his face. _He kinda reminds me of Red_ … He sighed and got to his feet slowly, not even bothering to stop the cough and letting the rose bud drop to the ground. "Welcome to the Viridian Gym. I'm the leader, Blue." He didn't care anymore. Let the kid think whatever he wanted to. The kid's golden eyes widened. He expected confusion or disgust, he did _not_ expect the boy to let out a squeak.

The kid rushed up to him and picked the rose bud up off the ground, thrusting it towards his face. "Oh my god, you too?!" he asked, eyes wide. He shoved the small flower at Blue as he dug in his pockets, pulling out silvery-white petals. "I've been coughing up petals for weeks now, but I have no idea what it means, and it's not like I eat flowers or anything and—"

"Woah, woah." Blue took a step back, blinking. "You're coughing up petals, kid?"

"Name's Gold, and yeah." He looked sheepish and shoved his hands in his coat. "I don't know what's wrong with me. Silver just glares at me every time I try to ask him, and Crystal is like, never around so she's not any help either and—"

Blue sighed and slapped a hand to his face. _Did this kid ever shut up?_ "Stop. Talking." Gold blinked at him but thankfully kept his mouth shut. "The flowers are a result of an illness called Hanahaki Disease. There's not much research into it, as it's so rare. It's thought to be the result of 'unrequited love.'"

Gold's mouth dropped open and he shoved his hands into his hair. " _That's_ what _that_ feeling is? I love him?!" Blue blinked in surprise, watching as the boy tapped his foot on the ground at a quick pace. "Okay Mr. Blue, I think I have time to battle you, but we'll have to make this quick. I need to talk to Silver."

He nodded slowly, calling out his pokemon. Today was certainly interesting, that was for sure. The battle was longer than he anticipated, not expecting the kid to have much strategy. When his last pokemon fainted, Gold smiled at him. He dug the badge out of his pocket and handed it over to the young trainer. "Thanks Mr. Blue! This badge brings me that much closer to challenging Red!"

Blue froze. "Red?" he whispered. "Red's been missing for months, kid. You'll be facing Lance at Indigo Plateau."

Gold shook his head slowly. "Rumor is that Red's been hiding out on Mt. Silver. I need the Championship to gain access to the mountain, but I can take down Lance easily enough. I _have_ beat him in battle before. I just needed the 'official' win. And now I can get it."

He stared at Gold's back as he bounced out of the Gym, presumably to go talk to this 'Silver.' Blue hoped that the other would listen, that Gold's affections would be returned. He seemed like a good kid and Blue didn't want him to suffer. _If only he had been able to return Red's_.

The thorns stabbed his throat as he hacked and coughed, tears springing in his eyes as he struggled to breathe. A whole rose tumbled from his lips and his eyes widened. _Shit._ He picked it up carefully, noticing the darker flecks of crimson on the red petals and the bitter odor of blood mixed in with the perfume of the rose. He was worse for sure.

Red was on Mt. Silver? Hiding from his duties as Championship and braving the elements? He growled. It was so like him, to run off without even saying goodbye. It almost felt like it was the old Red.

He checked his watch. It was still early. He knew the way to Mt. Silver, having attempted to reach the peak once or twice before on his own time. He had no idea that Red had been there. If he had, he might would've tried harder to reach the top. He healed his pokemon, wrapped himself in his warmest clothes, and took off for Mt. Silver.

" _Your moves seem so familiar." Red commented, glancing towards Blue. They were both sitting on the floor of the Gym, backs against the wall. They had just battled, and Red had won, again. "I can always anticipate your strategy. Even when you change it up, I somehow still can sense what you're about to do. It's like I know you from a past life or something."_

 _Blue flinched, grabbing his water bottle and chugging it down in an attempt to stop the tickling of petals in his throat. He finished and turned to Red, but the other was staring off into space, eyes lost in thought. "Maybe we did know each other," he murmured. This Red was much more talkative than_ his _Red. He supposed it was because_ his _Red was trying to keep the petals from spilling out._

" _It's the only thing that makes sense," he hummed softly, stroking Pikachu's back. "Every time I see you I just have this nagging feeling that I know you, that I've known you for a long time, even though we only met a year ago."_

" _Yeah." Blue scratched at his nose, a slight cough rumbling in his throat. "The mind does weird things, I guess."_

" _I guess." Red got to his feet and Pikachu leaped to his shoulder as he tugged his hat down over his eyes. Blue scrambled to his feet and breathed in, only to find the air pushed from his lungs as he coughed, hard. Red shot out a hand, steadying Blue as he shook. "You okay?" he asked, tone worried. "You've been coughing a lot lately and I just want to make sure you're not getting sick. I can always call in a substitute to take over the Gym for a few days while you get some rest—"_

" _I'm fine." Blue choked out, pushing Red's hand away and straightening up. "It's just allergies." Red's worried look didn't fade but he dropped the subject._

" _If you're sure." He murmured, walking with Blue to the door. "Just call me if you need me."_

" _Yeah, yeah," Blue smiled slightly. "Just get back to the Plateau. I'll smell ya later."_

 _Red's brow furrowed but he shook it off and grinned, waving as he hopped on Charizard's back and took off._

 _Blue turned away and the tears spilled over as the coughs overtook him, slumping to the ground._

It was cold. It was so cold he couldn't feel his face. But the cold numbed everything, and for once he wasn't struggling to breathe, even though the air was thin.

He had reached the peak. After countless battles with elite trainers and many stops to heal his pokemon, he had done it. And every step along the way, every trainer he fought, they all mentioned the mysterious boy waiting at the top of the mountain. And there he was.

Silhouetted against the gray backdrop of sky, almost impossible to make out in the blizzard, was Red. Blue felt a smile cross his face even as his heart tightened at the thought of facing him again. "Hey!" he yelled as loud as he could, voice scraping against his throat painfully from lack of use.

The other turned to face him and grasped his pokeballs, letting out Venasaur." Let's get this party started!" Red yelled, Blue barely making out the words over the rush of the wind. He frowned. _So, getting right to it, then?_ He called out Ninetales, and the battle ensued.

The fire fox easily downed Venasuar, and Red switched to Snorlax. He was able to burn the other's pokemon before Ninetales fainted, and he called in Cloyster. The Snorlax fainted and Red switched to Blaistoise, Blue switching to Exeggutor to counter. Then it was Charizard, and he'd not managed to switch out Exeggutor before he fainted. But his Cloyster managed to down the fire-flying type before fainting to a burn wound. Next was Alakazam and Jolteon, and Blue got lucky with a paralyzing hit on the psychic type. And then Red was down to Pikachu, while Blue still had Jolteon and Sandslash, who'd he'd been saving for this moment. He called out his ground-type, watching with surprise as Red's eyes widened, and Pikachu was down. He'd done it. He'd finally won. The silence was deafening, and Blue realized that sometime during their match the blizzard had stopped.

"You finally did it." Red said quietly, staring at Blue. "You finally won. In my time of battling you, it's only taken you, what, 10 years?"

"Yeah, that's right—" Blue trailed off as he realized that Red had said _10_ years. " Red, we've only known each for like, 3 years, I know it feels like a lifetime—" he joked, holding back his tears.

"I was supposed to forget you." Red murmured. "They had said the surgery would make me forget you."

Blue fell to his knees, not daring to hope, not wanting to listen, not able to run away. "No, no. This, this isn't—"

"I _did_ forget you, for a while." Red moved closer to him, staring down at him. "But things were just… _off_ with you. You knew me too well, and I knew _you_ too well, for us to have _not_ known each other." He kneeled in front of Blue, eyes downcast. "And then you said that phrase. The one you always said. ' _Smell ya later'_. It's so _dumb_ , so _stupid_ , so, so _you_." Blue blinked as he realized Red was crying. "And I _remembered_ , and I didn't know what to do and I didn't know how to feel, and I just needed to get away and so I came here—" he looked up at Blue, crimson eyes brimming with emotion. "And then I head that a challenger was making his way up the mountain, trying to reach the top, and I _hoped_ it was you—I just _knew_ it was you." He wrapped his arms around Blue's waist, and he looked down in surprise, but wrapped his arms around the other. "And then I knew that I still loved you." The last part came out as a whisper, and Blue blinked. He hadn't felt any coughs since his second week on Mt. Silver. He hadn't noticed it before. His eyes widened as his brain caught up to Red's words.

 _Red…loves me._

 _Red loves me._

Red _loves_ me.

 _Red_ loves _me._

He tilted Red's chin up and looked him in the eyes. "I'm sorry." He whispered, wiping at Red's tears. "I was such an idiot when I was younger and…" he stopped, forcing himself to breathe in, and noticing that the action didn't cause him pain. His heart skipped a beat. "I love you too, Red."

"The climate's not right for either of those flowers, young man."

Gold frowned at the florist's words but shook his head. "You don't understand. This is very important to me, I have to have these flowers." He glanced at his watch. "Like, right now."

The florist sighed, scratching her head. "I don't recommend using them, sir, they'll just wilt in the sun. I can suggest using other flowers, similar in color—"

"NO!" Gold snapped, slamming his hands down on the counter. "Please, miss, I'll pay whatever you want. They only have to last a few hours, anyway." Gold pleaded, curling his fingers around his sunglasses.

The florist looked taken aback, but she nodded slowly and arranged the flowers he'd been asking for for the past 30 minutes. Eventually she finished and handed over the bouquet that he had requested.

"Thank you!" he threw some money at her and rushed out the door. He was going to be late, at this rate. Blue was going to kill him.

He showed up with five minutes to spare and shoved the bouquet in Red's hands. "Here!" he squeaked, before making his way to the front of the hall to stand by Blue. Lance, standing at the podium, looked pissed, and Silver glared at him from across the aisle. But nothing compared to Blue. He could practically _feel_ Blue's irritation and anxiety radiating off of him.

"Where have you been?" Blue hissed under his breath.

"Sorry! The florists here in Alola don't know how to just take an order without arguing. At least I got it, right?"

Blue opened his mouth to argue but at that moment, the doors at the end of the hall opened and everything went silent as the music started to play. He turned to look up at Blue and blinked at the sudden change that came over his best friend. Blue was _beaming_ , the anxiety and irritation _gone_.

Granted, Red _did_ look stunning. His black hair contrasting with his pale skin, his crimson eyes glowing, and the ivory suit, fitting him in all the right places. But, he noticed with a hint of satisfaction, was that Blue's eyes had darted to the bouquet Red held that popped against the neutral tones. It was, after all, _exactly_ what he had asked for.

Larkspur and roses.


End file.
